Law enforcement officials swept through parts of west and north Stockton on Wednesday, snapping up alleged members of street gangs police say have been responsible for a recent spate of shootings.

The seven people arrested during the sweep that began in the early morning didn't know the multiagency operation was going to happen, but they shouldn't have been surprised.

It's exactly what law enforcement officers told them was going to happen in November through Stockton's Operation Ceasefire, a program to target the city's most dangerous individuals and groups in an effort to curb violent crime.

Through group meetings known as "call-ins," word of mouth and face-to-face meetings, feuding street gangs the Bloods and Crips were put on notice, officials said.

"They were given a very direct message," said Officer Joe Silva, a Stockton Police Department spokesman. " 'Stop the violence. Put down the guns and stop the shooting. If you don't do this, you are going to be part of a large enforcement mission like we saw here today.' "

Police believe the gangland feud was connected to a brazen afternoon shooting on Jan. 8 at a carwash held to raise money to pay for the funeral for Jayl Calbert, the victim of a Jan. 3 homicide.

Police are investigating to determine if the two incidents are connected, Silva said.

One of the men arrested Wednesday had been at a November call-in, a meeting that is a central part of Operation Ceasefire.

Much of a city's violence can be attributed to just a relatively small number of gangs and individuals, said Ralph Womack, a retired police officer who heads the city's Ceasefire program. Those people and groups are identified and brought to these meetings, he said.

The people at the meeting were told to spread the word, Womack said. "They were told that the next person in your group who commits a shooting, ... we're going to come down in full force on your whole group." Officials also sought out and told other identified people, he said.

A call-in comes with a warning, but it is more than that, he said. Police Chief Eric Jones comes to the meetings, but the message that the violence has got to stop comes from the broader community, too, Womack said.

There are a variety of speakers, from a mother who lost a child to violence, to a pastor who has had to bury homicide victims, to neighbors whose homes have been struck with gunfire, Womack said. "They talk about the impact of the violence on them."

If the gang members at the meeting need help kicking alcohol addiction or getting training to find jobs, people at the meetings will get them in touch with services to do that, Womack said.

Wednesday's sweep was also a message to any other groups that authorities put on notice that there will be consequences, Womack said. Each time this happens, the message will be reinforced, he said. "Over time, ... we will continue to see a positive impact on violence."

And the focus on those caught up in the sweeps will remain through prosecution, Silva said.

"If we say something is going to happen to you, we mean it," Silva said. "And we are going to make sure to follow through from the beginning all the way to the end."

The sweep hit a dozen locations in Stockton and involved both federal agencies and law enforcement officers from across Stockton and San Joaquin County.

During the sweeps, officers brought in 137 Ecstasy pills, 13.44 grams of the powdered drug used to make Ecstasy, 34 pounds of marijuana, seven marijuana plants, 3.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine, body armor and four firearms - one stolen and two with illegal magazines.

Arrested on suspicion of committing varying drug, weapon or other violations, with alleged gang enhancements, were:

» Lamar Smith, 25

» John Leav, 30

» Calvin Mitchell III, 23

» Sarath Phim, 24

» Roy Meadows, 30

» Andre Dickerson, 23

» Andre Armstrong, 19

The number of homicides in Stockton skyrocketed in 2011 and 2012. In 2012, police investigated 71 homicides, the most the city had ever seen. Last year, the number was less than half than that, at 32.

Operation Ceasefire is just one of the ways police have been targeting violent crime in the city.

The Police Department is pleased with the reduction in violent crime in 2013, Silva said. "(But) we know we still have a lot of work to do and a long way to go."

Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/johnsonblog and on Twitter @zacharykjohnson.